Pittsburgh Pirates Usher Retires After 81 Seasons

If you’ve ever sat in sections 26 or 27 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, you may have been shown to your seats by legendary usher Phil Coyne. After serving 81 seasons as an usher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 99-year-old Coyne is calling it a career and retiring. Phil Coyne began ushering for the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field in 1936 when he was a teenager. He went on to usher at Three Rivers Stadium until 2000 and then at PNC Park beginning in 2001.

Last year, the Pittsburgh City Council declared August 29th, 2017 as “Phil Coyne Day” at PNC Park and held a ceremony that rewarded Coyne with a framed number 99 Pirates jersey. Coyne will turn 100 years old two weeks from now on April 27th and the Pittsburgh Pirates will be throwing a party for that milestone as well. His only break as an usher came during the World War II era in the 1940’s. Phil Coyne was the oldest usher in Major League Baseball and also served as an usher at Heinz Field for Pittsburgh Steelers home games until 2016. He’s also an usher at his church, St. Paul Cathedral.

According to the New York Times, Phil Coyne’s overall favorite memories as an usher came during the days the Pittsburgh Pirates played at Forbes Field. In fact, he grew up just a few streets over from Forbes Field. His favorite individual memory was when Bill Mazeroski hit a game-winning home run to win the 1960 World Series vs. the New York Yankees. Serving as an usher at Major League Baseball games is a dream job for many retired men and Phil Coyne lived an incredible life!